bodhisattva

Details

Term Type

Art & Architecture Thesaurus

Preferred Term

bodhisattva

Details

In Mahayana Buddhism, one who attains the enlightenment of a Buddha but chooses to postpone entering nirvana and instead stays in the world for the compassionate purpose of helping lesser beings attain enlightenment. In Theravada Buddhism, the term is exclusively used to identify historical Buddhas in their previous lives.

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